Abby ROQUE

HERITAGE
On her father’s side, Roque is a member of the Wahnapitae First Nations tribe and has dual citizenship in the USA and Canada, where her father is originally from. Her uncle Larry was also recently voted chief of the Wahnapitae First Nation, part of the Ojibwe First Nation. She is one of three ice hockey players of First Nations heritage competing at Beijing 2022, along with Jocelyne Larocque (CAN) and Jamie Lee Rattray (CAN), who are both Metis. (indiancountrytoday.com, 31 Jan 2022)

"When I left [for college], I realised that people aren’t predominantly around other Native American people, or know many at all, where I knew a good amount. Just leaving where I grew up, I realised how few Native American people there really are, just everywhere. It’s great to be able to talk and teach about my Native American culture and of our specific community’s culture. When I left, I didn’t realise how small the numbers were of Native American hockey players, so for me, it’s doing all I can to help do things to allow hockey to be more inclusive." (teamusa.usahockey.com, 7 Jan 2021)

EARLY CAREER
Grew up playing minor hockey in boys' leagues, which helped shape her playing style. "When I was younger, the only thing I really knew was playing with the boys...Growing up with the boys, I was never the offensive powerhouse on the team. I was never the best player on my team in my youth career. I was usually viewed as a smart player, so I got to play with some of the better players, because I could pass them the puck. But I always knew the importance of the D zone." (thesudburystar.com, 13 Apr 2020)

DUAL CITIZEN
Is a dual citizen of the United States of America and Canada, as her father was born there. Grew up in Sault Ste. Marie, MI. On potentially representing Canada internationally, she said, "I’m an American, I’m from here, so I never really considered it as an option." (teamusa.usahockey.com, 1 Jul 2021)

POST-CAREER PLANS
Plans to become a coach or work in sports marketing. (teamusa.usahockey.com, 1 Oct 2021)

PLAYING CAREER
University of Wisconsin, USA (2016-20); Team Minnesota, USA (2020- ).

© Data by Sports Data Warehouse

Silver medal at the 2021 World Championships.

Won an NCAA national championship with Wisconsin in 2019.